The Most Oblivious Person On The Planet
by Living.Like.A.Boss
Summary: Wherein Nico courts Percy, Percy is oblivious and the girls can't believe their idiocy. Nicercy
1. Prologue

**The Most Oblivious Person On The Planet**

**Summary: Wherein Nico courts Percy, Percy is oblivious and the girls can't believe their idiocy. Nicercy**

**Warning(s): Major Character Death (Annabeth), Some angst and Hurt/Comfort in first chapter**

**Author's Note: Don't you just love an oblivious Percy?**

* * *

_Prologue—So Finished With The Friendzone_

Nico was somewhat frustrated with his situation.

Oh who was he kidding? He was so pissed that any dead thing within a meter radius of him started shaking, just _that _close to regaining consciousness, in tune with his obvious agitation. And who was responsible for his condition?

Percy "You're one of my best friends" Jackson, that's who! The person who Nico he lived for, the person he loved with all his heart. Yes, that was a cheesy statement, so cheesy that a dairy farm probably did not even own that much cheese, but it was the truth. It was _his_ fault that Nico's power was going somewhat bonkers from emotional overload.

Well—Nico would concede that it wasn't actually Percy's fault per se. Perhaps the blame should be more appropriately shifted to Piper.

Let's start from the beginning.

* * *

It has been four years since the Giant War ended and all was calm. Much to the surprise of every demigod in existence, no other prophecy popped out from nowhere, no other foe was lurking in the shadows just biding their time (or at least Nico hoped not), and everything was normal. As normal as a life of a demigod could be, that is.

Which left Nico lots of time to contemplate his feelings for Percy, something that Nico actually did _not _appreciate. During the war it was quite easy to control his thoughts. Bring the _Athena Parthenos_ to Camp Half-blood, return to the Argo II to help the chosen seven. Keep Hazel safe—he wasn't going to lose another sister.

But most importantly: Keep Percy safe at all costs.

Probably the most frequently thought phrase that passed through Nico's head daily.

And after the war was over, Nico hadn't sought romance with Percy either, for one simple reason—Annabeth had died. Leaving Percy heartbroken.

Nico helped Percy through his grief though. Percy had pushed everyone away the first year, much to the dismay of all his friends and family. Except for Nico.

Since Nico was the son of Hades and travelled to the Underworld on a regular basis, he had been the only one Percy was willing to talk to. With reluctant permission from his father, Nico had brought Percy down to the Underworld, to Elysium, to say the goodbyes he had never gotten the chance to utter to the daughter of Athena.

* * *

_"Annabeth," Percy said in a broken tone, unshed tears shimmering in his eyes. The blonde gave Percy a sad smile and stepped towards him, lifting a hand to touch his face, only for it to pass through, as if her hand was never there._

_"It's okay Percy," she murmured soothingly into his ear. "It wasn't your fault that I died. And I'm happy here. It's nice."_

_Percy kissed her cheek, or tried to at least, and Nico felt his heart ache, only to feel ashamed moments later when he realised how juvenile it was to get jealous over a dead person._

_Annabeth had caught the flash of pain in Nico's eyes and turned to him with a look of understanding in her sharp grey eyes. "Take care of him for me, okay?" She said softly, too soft for Percy to catch._

_Nico nodded solemnly and beckoned Percy to him. The limited time Hades had given Percy to stay was up and it was time to leave._

_"Goodbye Annabeth," Percy said, and the tears he had been trying to hold back were slowly trailing down his face._

_"Goodbye Seaweed Brain," she said, fondness evident in her voice._

_"And word of advice Percy? It's time to stop hiding." Was the last thing they heard before Nico shadow-travelled them away._

* * *

When they had returned back to Camp Half-blood, Nico allowed Percy to cry in his arms, all the while muttering calming words under he finally fell asleep.

After the visit Percy had improved and started opening himself to others again. He had also spent more and more time with Nico, depending on him and telling him everything. And Nico had taken his role graciously, beyond glad with the amount of trust that Percy placed in him.

Percy had also—shocking everybody—came out as gay. He had admitted that he and Annabeth had faked their relationship so that they could each conceal their secret, and also because the entire camp had expected them to end up together. But even so, he hadn't gotten a boyfriend or showed any interest in the boys around him (much to both Nico's relief and disappointment).

Now, four years after the war, Nico had almost been resigned to a life of being Percy's best friend and _only _his best friend. But that was until Piper had started interfering.

You see, everyone with eyes had been able to see how much Nico loved Percy, besides Percy himself, and seeing such an obviously perfect pair that _wasn't_ together had awoken the inner matchmaker in the daughter of Aphrodite. She knew that Nico just needed that extra push for him to start courting Percy and she had given said push.

Piper had recently started using Percy as her own personal Barbie doll, dressing him up in the most drool-worthy clothes she could find. Percy had allowed it—partly due to Piper's ability to charmspeak—and now dressed in clothes that accentuated his every positive feature.

Oh Zeus, Nico was in a dilemma! With such a temptation dangling in front of him, it was almost impossible to hold back and resist ravishing the perfect beauty.

But the final straw had been when the guys at camp had started coming on to _his _Percy, from asking him out on dates to outright groping him.

Percy had not accepted any of the offers (and the ones who tried touching him—let's just say that Nico took care of them). However, Nico dreaded the day when Percy finally _did _accept a date and ended up with someone that wasn't _him._

Nico knew if that happened, he would completely crumble. He wouldn't allow anyone to steal Percy from him. Never.

* * *

And so here he was, coming up with ways to make Percy see him as more than his best friend.

He still had trouble with deciding the best course of action—honestly, he knew _nothing _about romantic relationships—but he had at least decided one thing.

No matter what it takes, Nico would make Percy his.


	2. Subtlety Is Stupid

_Chapter One—Subtlety Is Stupid_

Okay. Nico had to concede that he knew absolutely _squat _about romance. After spending the whole day thinking, trying to come up with an idea to woo Percy effectively, he had come out empty-handed. Considering that he was half-Italian and everything, that was pretty pathetic.

He had nothing planned to win Percy's heart; he had no clue what to do. Nico grunted in frustration as he tugged at his messy hair. If only he could just summon Percy's heart like how he summoned ghosts, how much easier that would be.

Cupid was wrong. Love was nothing like Death. Nico would have a much easier time understanding it if that was the case.

He sighed. Looks like there was only one option left to him. With absolute reluctance, Nico shadow-travelled to New Rome.

* * *

"So you'll finally going to woo him? It's about time, Nico!" Hazel exclaimed in glee. A huge smile—it looked somewhat triumphant, for reasons Nico could not explain—graced her face as she turned to face her half-brother.

"Yeah sure. Brilliant," Nico said unenthusiastically. He didn't look as if he thought it was brilliant.

Noticing Nico's less than stellar response, her eyebrow quirked up and she frowned. "You don't look very happy," she pointed out. "Are you _sure_ you want to woo Percy? Because you certainly don't look it."

"Of course I want Percy to be my boyfriend!" Nico said defensively, his voice louder than it ought to be. "It's just I dunnowhattodo…" he murmured under his breath.

Nico's mutterings had been too soft and quick for Hazel to catch, even when she strained her ears. "What did you say? Speak up, would you? It's not like you're going to wake the dead or anything," she quipped.

Nico gave her a withering look (because that was honestly the worst attempt of Underworld humour he had heard from her so far), before blushing bright red, which Hazel noted immediately. _That_ was interesting.

"It's just—I don't—uh!" Nico threw his hands up in irritation. He just couldn't get the words out of his mouth. Seriously, was there anything more embarrassing than telling your sister that you needed help with wooing your long-time crush?

No, Nico didn't think so. Whoever who suggested otherwise would earn themselves a one-week stay in Hades' realm, he swore.

"What? What?" Hazel prodded, her brother's flustering had peaked her interest and she hated being kept in suspense. "What's so hard about getting Percy to be your boyfriend?"

"Everything!" Nico exclaimed, because it was _true_. "Everything, Hazel! I don't know what to do, okay? I mean—have you seen him? He has so many people chasing after him a-and he's never shown any interest in me before! Why would he choose me?"

Nico looked visibly deflated, and seeing her brother—who had saved her from living her death useless in the Fields of Asphodel—so upset and hopeless made Hazel's heart ache.

"Why would he choose me?" Nico repeated, this time in a whisper. Because now, saying those words out loud, allowed Nico to see how true those words were. Why would Percy choose him? A child of Hades, an outsider. Why would Percy choose to be with him when he could pick anybody else? Maybe he should just accept that fact and give—

"OUCH!" Nico was snapped out of his thoughts by a slap to the back of his head. "That hurt!"

Hazel gave him a smug grin—gosh she was small but _boy_ did she have strength—and said, "I hope so. Now, are you out of your 'why would anyone want me' moods yet?"

"What?" Nico asked, stunned by Hazel's words. She rolled her eyes at him and put one of her hands on his shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"You had that look on your face. The look you always get when you're demeaning yourself. Don't sell yourself short Nico. You are a powerful demigod. You helped save Olympus twice. Anyone would be lucky to have you as a partner."

Nico blinked in surprise, and stared at Hazel. Did she really think all that about him? Did she really believe in him that much?

A surge of affection and confidence shot through Nico and he pulled Hazel into a hug.

"Thank you," he mumbled into her curly hair. "I needed that."

"You're welcome," Hazel replied, her mouth stretching into a wide smile. "Now, let's win you your man!"

* * *

Nico sat in his room in Hades' Palace, looking uncertain yet determined at the same time. He took a deep breath before flipping the book open to the first chapter.

Said book—'_Wooing Your Beau: A How To Guide'—_was given to him by Hazel. After an entire evening of trying to coach her brother, and failing miserably since Nico constantly rebuked her advice—"Offering to keep his life source safe doesn't apply to everyone Hazel!"—Hazel had left Nico for a while before returning with the book and shoving it into his hands.

"Here. Just follow the instructions in the book and it'll steer you in the right direction." She had said.

_Hello! Welcome to Wooing Your Beau, a how to guide that's 100% guaranteed to work in helping you get your loved one. Just follow the steps and methods given and soon she'll be yours! Remember though, some methods do not work for everybody so don't be too disappointed if one doesn't work. Just move on to the next step and try, try again! After all, persistence is the path to success. _Nico read. The introduction was quite lengthy, very cheesy, and most definitely not worth anymore of Nico's time. So, he skipped to the first step and continued reading once again.

_**Step One: Find out her feelings.**_

_After all, if she returns your feelings, half the battle is already won. Now, you might ask, how do I know if she likes me or not? Fear not! Listed below are some things to note._

_1). Does she act differently towards you than she does with other guys? Does she blush excessively when you're around?_

And so, that was how Nico's night was spent. Reading the first chapter, learning to read body language, casual touches and learning how to flirt etc. He was so intrigued—who knew that there were so many ways to know if someone likes you or not—that by the time he put the book down it was three o' clock according to his watch (that Percy had given him after commenting for the hundredth time that he was never on time).

He yawned loudly, only now realizing how tired he was—Percy was so going to give him a tongue lashing tomorrow when he saw his eye bags—before snuggling into his black bed sheets.

Tomorrow, he was spending the day with Percy as usual but this time, he had a goal.

He would use his recently learnt knowledge and by the end of the day he would be one step closer in making Percy his.

That night, Nico slept with a soft smile on his face.

* * *

"That was a great practice won't you say, Nico?" Percy asked after their sword practice session, his face red from exertion and rivulets of sweat falling from his face. Nico stared down at him with an entranced look on his face (why did Percy have to look so damn cute and hot at the same time?), before realizing that he had been asked a question. A mock sad expression appeared on his face as he pouted, "Of course you would say that. I bet you enjoy beating me don't you?"

Percy giggled and nudged him in the gut. _Laughing at your lame jokes, check! _Nico thought. He internally sighed in relief. Throughout the day, he had been hard-pressed to find stuff the book said would hint at the person's liking. He had even tried making more physical contact: brushing up against Percy more, stroking his arm often and bumping into him constantly while they were sparring. However, Percy had shown no signs of shyness at his acts, no blushes or stuttering. Nico didn't even think Percy felt that anything was different.

"It's not my fault that I'm awesome, Nico. You've just got to deal with it!" Percy teased, presenting a perfect opportunity to work in a compliment.

"Yes, you're quite good at swordplay aren't you? Best in camp, even! I wonder—do you think you could help me better the use of my…_sword?_" Nico said, flushing at his last statement because _oh god how obvious could he get than that blatant innuendo_. Hopefully Percy would think his blush was from the heat.

Nico forced himself to not turn away so that he could scan Percy's expression. Sadly there was no change. Percy didn't even seem to have registered that it was an innuendo at all.

He did receive a hug however. For some reason. Though Nico didn't really care for the reason, he didn't even care that they were both sweaty and it was kind of gross, he just wrapped his arms around Percy and enjoyed it while it lasted._ Random hugs; check! _Nico thought with a contented smile.

"You idiot," Percy murmured into his chest, "I'm not the _best. _But if you wanted help with your sword work you could have just asked me instead of acting weird all day."

_What?_

Percy pulled away and laughed at Nico's ridiculous facial expression. "You didn't think I wouldn't notice you acting different, did you? I knew you were buttering me up for something."

"I'm going to go shower now. However, when you want something next time just ask okay? Don't need to be awkward. We're friends, aren't we?" Percy turned and left for the showers, leaving Nico gaping in his wake.

"Right. Friends." Nico muttered under his breath as he buried his face in his hands.

Ugh! Nico couldn't believe it. Percy had thought that Nico had acted differently, had _flirted _because he had wanted help with his sword work.

_How did he even _get _that? _Nico wondered as he groaned into his palm. Nico didn't know.

But obviously, being subtle about his attentions around Percy wouldn't work.

_Well_, Nico thought, _at least two out of…twelve of the questions for the 'Does she (he) like you?' quiz have been fulfilled. _It wasn't much but at the very least it was _something._

_Though a more forward method would be needed to woo Percy. _Nico told himself.

Back to the book then.

* * *

As Percy told Rachel about his day, which basically consisted of Nico, Nico, _Nico, _Rachel felt the strangest urge to connect her palm and her face.

"I find it sort of weird that Nico is trying to improve his sword work. Don't you? Do you think he's trying to impress somebody?" Percy went on, and the urge grew stronger.

Rachel let out a sigh—_how oblivious could this boy be—_as she continued to listen to Percy's rant.

"It's not that I would be upset if he _was _trying to impress somebody but—"

_Yeah, _Rachel thought. _If they don't get together soon, I think I'll have to gut myself._


	3. The Secret Admirer Route

_Chapter Two—The Secret Admirer Route_

_Which should I choose? _Nico pondered as he stared at the opened book in front of him. _The Courtship Route or the Secret Admirer Route?_

Nico had arrived back at the Underworld three hours ago, after his terrible attempt at trying to find out if Percy liked him as 'more than a friend'. The good thing about the attempt was that it allowed him to understand Percy a little better, which made it easier to search for the appropriate method to use in order to make Percy his. Nico now knew that Percy was as oblivious as he was beautiful and it would take some pretty blatant actions to let Percy know that someone special wanted him as a boyfriend.

Nico had scoured through the book Hazel gave him and ended up with two workable options. The Courtship Route and the Secret Admirer Route.

From what Nico gathered, they were both essentially the same thing. Both of them had you send gifts to the person you wanted, except one would have you pronounce your intentions to your courted while the other allowed you a mask of obscurity to hide under. It was kind of hard to decide which method to use.

If Hazel was here, she probably would have smacked Nico's head again for thinking too much but Nico believed that the planning was important in the greater scheme of love. If you picked the wrong option, you might just send the object of your affections into someone else's arms and that was really not cool.

Nico pursed his lips. Both methods held appeal. Since Nico's childhood was in the 1940s where courting was '_the_ way' to get someone, that method would probably be a little more familiar. It also had the benefit of being too obvious for Percy to ignore. However, that was both an advantage and a disadvantage. The Secret Admirer route was fascinating as it was almost the same thing as courting but it allowed the 'secret admirer' to get the person to fall in love with them before revealing who they are. This way, Nico would not have to fear outright rejection if Percy really did not feel the same way about him.

He fell back on his bed and released a sigh of exasperation. _Hades, this is killing me, _he thought. _It would be _so _much easier if I could use the same method Father used._

Speaking of Hades…

About two hours ago, Hades had entered Nico's bedroom to, quote, "give him some relationship advice". You can imagine how embarrassed Nico had felt. Turns out Hazel—_that traitor—_had told him about Nico's love problems and Hades was forced to help by Persephone (of whom Nico now had another reason to hate, besides the dandelion thing). Nico had wished the Seven of The Prophecy had not made the gods promise to be more loving and parental to their children. He might crave Hades' approval but him acting fatherly to Nico just felt plain _wrong._ And in the end, Hades had suggested using the old bring-him-to-the-Underworld-and-have-him-eat-a-pomegranate method. Yeah, not an option. Nico wanted Percy to be _willing, _for one. And besides, kidnapping the Great Hero of Olympus might spark the next World War. No, thank you.

Nico briefly wondered why all his family's romantic partners were gotten through unorthodox means.

Back to the problem at hand! _Which to choose, which to choose. _Staring at the book for what seemed like an eternity, something clicked in Nico's mind and he finally came to a decision.

Once his decision was made, Nico hopped off the bed, almost falling flat on his face in his joy and excitement, and shadow-travelled away—it was a good thing that he was much better at that so he didn't faint in exhaustion after one or two trips—to get Percy his first gift.

* * *

Percy looked to his bedside instinctively the moment he woke up and found a blue package waiting for him, once again. The first time a package appeared on his bedside table, Percy had been confused. He had opened it to find an assortment of blue candy, reminiscent of the times when his mother would bring back a bag for him after a long day of work. On the package itself had been a note, stating that it was from his _s__ecret admirer, _followed by a very sweet missive.

Now, Percy looked forward to the nondescript blue package that would greet him every morning. He found himself falling a little for his Secret admirer, mostly because of the messages that were on the notes. However, he did secretly harbor the small hope that his Secret admirer was Nico, who he had been crushing on since he had helped Percy through his best friend's death, sticking with him through the crying fits and the temper tantrums.

Percy sighed. He knew Nico did not like him that way. There had never been any indication that Nico liked him and Percy suspected that Nico liked someone else, anyway. Nico would nowadays cut their practice sessions off early as he rushed off to who knows where, and he would also constantly ask Percy of his thoughts on wooing a person. Percy knew he would have to snap out of denial and move on from his crush soon so that he could finally settle down with someone who could love him back but it was so _hard._

He stared at the note in his hands and smiled fondly at the quirky and sweet message. His Secret admirer really did understand him well.

_Maybe he would be able to help me get over Nico, _Percy thought as he snuggled his face into the blue teddy's bear soft fur—today's gift—and reveled in the somewhat familiar smell.

* * *

Nico smirked a little as Percy went on and on about his Secret admirer. It had been two weeks since he made the decision to take the Secret admirer route and it seemed like he made the right choice. Percy was clearly falling in love with his Secret admirer aka _him, _and the very thought made him dizzy with happiness.

As Nico kindly asked Percy's permission to cut their sword practice short once again—it was a little time-consuming to find things that were blue and would hold some significance to Percy, so he had to sacrifice some of his daily Percy-time—he thought with a huge smile on his face, _soon I'll reveal my identity and then he shall be mine._

* * *

Percy sighed sadly as Nico shadow-travelled away. He felt as if Nico was drifting away from him and it hurt. Percy had expected it but it still felt terrible to know that Nico was probably abandoning him to meet his secret girlfriend/boyfriend (and wasn't that horrid, Percy didn't even know Nico's sexual orientation. Nico didn't trust him enough to tell him, apparently). A flare of jealousy burned in his chest at the thought of Nico finding someone else to settle down with but he quickly squelched it.

_I should be happy for him, not be selfish and try to keep him all to myself._

Percy was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't notice someone walk up behind him. So when he heard a "Hello", it startled him and caused him to instinctively whip out Riptide.

"Whoa there!" someone who Percy vaguely remembered as a Son of Hermes raised his arms in surrender. "I don't mean any harm."

Percy blushed a little at his overreaction—going through two wars did that to you—and capped his sword. He stared at the tall teenager in front of him, trying to place his name. Percy had seen him around camp before. He was one of the few recently found campers who had the fortune of not being in either of the wars. Percy wondered how he hadn't been claimed or attacked by a monster before now. He was a Son of Hermes and looked to be about Percy's age, albeit taller (everyone seemed to be taller than him these days, even Nico who was three years younger than him, which was truly embarrassing) and should have been attracting monsters since he hit the age of twelve. But he managed to make it to twenty without needing the aid of Camp Half-Blood.

_He must have had someone like Smelly Gabe in his life, _Percy thought. _Either that or he's really, really good at avoiding and fighting._

"I'm sorry about that," Percy apologized sheepishly. "You startled me."

"It's fine," the guy said with a mischievous smile on his face. "I just wanted to ask you something."

"What's your name first?" Percy blurted out; only realizing how rude it sounded after the words left his mouth. "Uh…sorry. I mean, I can't seem to recall your name."

The guy chuckled. "I'll be surprised if you did know my name. I'm really just another face in the crowd. But my name is Hilliary and I'm a Son of Hermes."

Percy wrinkled his nose a little upon hearing the guy's name.

"Yeah, I know. I think my mother thought it would be funny to name me that. Hilliary-ous, am I right?" Hilliary joked. Percy couldn't help but laugh at his pun, no matter how silly it was. Hilliary just had a charm to him.

"Right, right." Percy said after his laughter died down. "So what did you want to ask me?"

"I was wondering if you would like to go out with me?"

Percy was about to let him down gently when Hilliary continued. "Wait—let me finish. I know you don't really accept dates but—I'm your Secret admirer."

"What?!" Percy exclaimed, extremely confused. "Really?"

Percy might have been hoping that Nico was his Secret admirer, but if it wasn't, Percy thought that it would be someone he knew at least. The notes had been so intimate…

"Yeah…" Hilliary flushed a little and scratched the back of his head.

"Then how did you know…how did you get the stuff into my cabin?"

"I know a lot of things about you. And my father is Hermes. I sort of have the ability to deliver things."

Percy never knew Hermes children had that ability and he was sort of creeped out by the fact that this stranger knew enough about him to write those beautiful notes and get him those gifts. But, he had to be a nice guy right, to write those notes? And Percy _had _liked the person who wrote those notes to him. Plus he needed to get over Nico…

Percy bit his lips in contemplation and finally said, "Okay. I'll go a date with you."

* * *

By afternoon, almost the entire camp knew of Percy's acceptance of a date.

When Piper heard of it, she could not help but scream a little inside. So much work to get Nico and Percy together yet Percy's obliviousness was putting all her hard work to waste. She sighed and got ready a drachma. Maybe Hazel could get her thickheaded brother to just admit his feelings before Percy ended up with the wrong person.

She threw the drachma into the rainbow she made and thought: _Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering._

_Hazel Levesque, Camp Jupiter._

Once Hazel's face appeared, Piper started, "Hazel—we have a problem. Percy's being an idiot again."


	4. Jealousy Masks Judgement

_Chapter Three—Jealousy Masks Judgement_

"—you can't be serious, Piper! He can't be _that _idiotic…"

"Yeah that's what I thought too but apparently we're both wrong. And Hazel? It's imperative that you tell Nico in a _soothing _manner. We don't want anymore misunderstandings—"

"Yup I got it! I'll break it to my brother as best as I can!"

"—wait! I'm not done yet—"

"Goodbye Piper!"

Hazel hung up on the call and flopped on her bunk bed, sighing exasperatedly. She stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, cursing the nameless dude who was going with Percy on a date. They had been _so close _to getting those two together and Nico had spent so much time courting Percy yet this arsehole had to go intrude and ruin their plans. What the heck? Are there no gods in the world?

Okay, rhetorical question. Now, the real question was how Hazel was going to tell Nico without causing the Apocalypse.

…Yeah she had nothing.

_Okay. First, I have to explain the entire situation to him. I can't have him getting the wrong idea. Secondly—_

"Hazel? Are you in here? I've got to tell you something," Nico's voice echoed from outside Hazel's cohort cabin.

Drats. Looks like she'll have to wing it.

"I'm in," she called out a little shakily. But you couldn't exactly blame her. She was about to confront her brother, who was one of the most powerful demigods she knew, with bad news. Who wouldn't be a bit nervous? Especially since she hadn't exactly had time to prepare what she was going to say.

"Okay then. I'm coming in," was the only warning before Nico burst in. He was wearing his normal, daily wear but there was something different about him. He had the biggest grin possible on his face. He looked so happy. Hazel swallowed harshly. It was going to be twice as bad to break the news to him then.

"Oh Hazel! I think I'm going to tell him today. Isn't that great? And I also have to thank you for the bo—what's with the look on your face? Is something wrong?" Nico's tone soon turned worried and Hazel wondered how she must look to cause his mood to change so drastically.

Taking in a deep breath, Hazel started, "I have to tell you something Nico. Piper just informed me that—she just informed me that Percy is going on a date with someone."

There was silence as Hazel waited for Nico's reaction. Loud silence. It was unnerving. Hazel couldn't stand it.

"Nico? Are you alright?"

"W-What? Did you just say that—that Percy is going out with someone?"

"Yeah but it's really not what you—"

"Percy is going out with someone." That wasn't a question. It was said so flatly that Hazel's heart ached for her half-brother. She continued, trying to ease some of the pain.

"Yes he is. But there's more to it than that I'm sure—"

"No stop!" Nico interrupted and he had shifted around so Hazel could not see his face. However, by the shaking of his shoulders and the sound of his voice, she had a strong feeling that he was crying. "Don't try to make me feel better, Hazel! I knew I shouldn't have let you convince me—who was I trying to kid? Of course Percy doesn't like me. If he's willing to go out with someone while I'm still courting him—I was such a fool…"

Hazel had to stop this. This was all going wrong.

"No Nico! You can't just give up. I know Percy likes you. You've just got to—"

"No! Shut up Hazel! I've had enough of this!" And Nico shadow-travelled away, leaving a distraught Hazel behind. Damn, she now really wished he had never mastered that talent of his. It made it so hard to hold a difficult conversation with him without him escaping.

* * *

Betrayed. Nico felt betrayed. And it was so unreasonable. Why should he feel that way? He knew that he had thought Percy was as good as his, that Percy liked him too. So finding out that Percy was going out with someone else…? It hurt. Of course it hurt.

But Nico had no reason to feel _betrayed. _He should only feel that way if Percy had been his in the first place. And Percy wasn't his in the first place, was he?

So what Nico was feeling right now was stupid. And yet, he couldn't help it.

Maybe…Nico just had to avoid Percy for awhile. He just couldn't bear to look at Percy at the moment. Knowing that Percy didn't like him, would never belong to him—it hurt too much.

It was for the best to steer clear of him. At least for the time being, until all of this blew over and all of Nico's feelings settled down.

Whether Nico could stay for that long was not part of the equation. Soothing his hurt was more important at the moment.

And it wasn't just because he didn't want to see Percy kissing and hugging someone else. No…no…it was not because of that. Not at all…

Denial was a mysterious and helpful thing.

* * *

Percy has spent about twenty minutes on a date with Hilliary and he most definitely felt that something was wrong. It wasn't that Hilliary was bad. Far from it. In fact, Hilliary was quite charming and funny. What you would expect of a Son of Hermes. It's just…something felt off. He didn't feel like Percy's Secret admirer.

In the letters, his Secret admirer would always be blunt yet sweet and awkward at the same time. Hilliary was just too…perfect. He didn't seem to stutter or stammer on his words like how Percy imagined his Secret admirer would. He didn't act like how Percy imagined his Secret admirer would. Which meant one thing.

Hilliary wasn't his Secret admirer. He had lied to him.

Percy pursed his lips and paused in his tracks. Since they had been walking down the beach hand in hand, Hilliary was jerked back as well and was currently staring at Percy with a confused look on his face.

Percy decided to just go for it. What point was there to delay the questioning?

"You're not my Secret admirer, are you?"

Hilliary didn't answer. Percy strove on. "You lied to me. To what? Get me to go on a date with you?"

Finally, Hilliary spoke up. "I just wanted to have a chance to date you. I was hoping that you'd like my company and want to go on another date. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lie."

"But you did," Percy said strictly, eyebrows creased in disapproval. "And you lied. I don't like people who trick me and treat me as if I'm dumb. I'm not stupid."

Percy walked up closer to Hilliary and slapped him hard across the face. The red mark shone bright like a homing beacon on the Son of Hermes' face and Hilliary was holding his cheek in his palm with a shocked expression, as if he couldn't believe that Percy had just smacked him.

"I'm sorry about the slap but you seem to have forgotten that I'm not just a weak camper. And like I said before, I _do not _appreciate being treated like the fool. But," and Percy's expression softened, "I do believe you're not a bad person Hilliary. Just—don't mess with me. Consider this slap a warning. There'll be more where that comes from if you persist in attempting to lie to me. Understood?"

Hilliary nodded his head quickly, eyes darting to the sides as if looking for a fast escape.

"Good. And I hope we can be friends," Percy said, sticking out his hand in offering. "I've had enough enemies before to last a lifetime. Friends?"

There was hesitation from Hilliary's end, but in the end he took Percy's hand and uttered a soft "okay".

Percy smiled before saying goodbye, stalking towards his cabin. His forehead was scrunched up in concentration, his mind now focused on one matter.

If Hilliary hadn't been his Secret admirer—then who was?

* * *

**Okay! So I've finally gotten 'round to writing this chapter. Thanks to all those who reviewed (you make me one to write more)! **


	5. Using Words

**Author's Note: **Sorry for updating this late! I recently completed my examinations and wanted to finish reading the Blood of Olympus first. Anyway, without further ado, here it is!

* * *

_Chapter Four—Using Words_

Nico was avoiding him. And when he said avoiding, he didn't mean not talking to him whenever they met. Percy meant _really _avoiding. As in, he hadn't come for any one of their practice sessions, hadn't popped in for any visits, _nothing._

_But why? _Percy wondered for the umpteenth time. _Why is he avoiding me?_

Had Percy done something wrong? He didn't think so.

Since Percy had been contemplating the question for so long—because it had been about a week since he had last seen Nico—he had come up with only one possible reason why the Son of Hades was not spending time with him.

Nico did have a secret boyfriend/girlfriend out there after all.

And you know, Percy wasn't a petty person, or much of a jealous person. He would totally support any of his friend's relationship, Nico's included, even if it did hurt.

But if that relationship started interfering with their friendship, then _that_ was a whole 'nother issue.

Because if there was one thing Percy treasured most in the world, it was friendship. In a world where most of your family wanted to kill you (well, the non-human ones, anyway—of course his mother and Paul would be a different matter altogether), one can't help but form strong attachment and loyalty to the ones who stuck through everything with you unconditionally. And he rather wanted to keep those ties, thank you very much.

Especially with Nico. If Percy couldn't have a romantic relationship with Nico then _fine, _he could handle that. But if they couldn't even be _friends_—then Percy didn't think he could handle that.

And it seemed he wasn't the only one Nico was avoiding. Percy had spoken to Piper, Hazel, Frank, Jason—they hadn't seen Nico either. Although, strangely, while Jason and Frank had been confused about Nico's disappearance, Piper and especially Hazel had looked rather guilty.

Hm…it was probably nothing. Maybe they thought, like Percy had previously, that they had done something wrong to cause Nico to go off unexpectedly.

Anyway, this was obvious proof that whatever relationship Nico was in wasn't good for him. Percy just wished that he could find some way to contact Nico so that he could tell him that. That he should dump the girlfriend/boyfriend who was demanding so much of his attention and who was messing with his friendships.

Okay, that might have sounded a bit spiteful. However, it was probably necessary. Percy knew Nico well and he knew friends were most likely as important to Nico as they were to him. With Nico feeling so isolated in the past, him souring any connections with his friends now couldn't be any good.

But Nico hadn't been answering his Iris messages. It was weird. Percy never knew Iris messages could be rejected. Though, since Iris would always tell him that the intended recipient was 'unavailable', Percy was guessing that yes, they indeed could be rejected.

Which meant that Nico was purposefully avoiding his messages.

So how was Percy going to contact him then…?

Oh duh! Percy could smack his forehead at his own stupidity. How could he forget? There was one person that Nico could never block, because of agreements set in place after the Giant War.

Rachel. The Oracle. It had been agreed that Rachel would always be able to contact and be contacted by anyone, just in case there was ever a prophecy that demanded a quest as soon as possible.

As soon as the revelation hit him, Percy was on his feet, rushing to Rachel's cave.

* * *

Nico was sulking in his room. In fact, he had been sulking in his room for quite a while. He didn't do this often and it sort of disgusted him that he was doing it now, but his sadness demanded to be acknowledged dammit. And as a child of Hades, whose fatal flaw was holding a grudge, it was probably better for him to stay in his room and allow his anger and pain to simmer out, rather than find Percy's date and set a hundred zombies on his tail.

Well…maybe that wasn't such a bad idea actually…

_No, no, _Nico told himself, inwardly sighing. _That won't make Percy like me any better. If anything, that might cause him to start hating me. And I really don't want that._

Hades had been quite disappointed at his behavior. Well, actually it was more disapproval than disappointment. Hades probably felt disappointed in Nico on a regular basis. At the moment, Hades disapproved of Nico's way of handling his unrequited love. Hades believed that if you loved something, you should just make that person yours. Just like he did with Persephone. Who cares if they didn't want to accept your love at the moment? Just destroy everything in your way!

In fact, all the gods probably had that view. Many have done so without any regards to the consequences.

Yeah—and if anyone remembered what came out of all those thoughtless actions, then they knew exactly why Nico thought that was an extremely bad idea.

In addition to sulking, he had cashed in a favour from Iris to ensure that no one would be able to contact him unless he wanted them to (don't ask him how he got the favour, let's just say he helped her with something and leave it at that, okay?).

And due to that fact, Nico was finding it very weird that he was currently receiving an Iris message. Rachel's face popped into view.

Nico cursed under his breath. He forgot that Rachel could contact anyone she wanted.

"Hello Nico, nice seeing you after one week of you avoiding everybody, huh?" Rachel greeted.

Nico scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh…yeah. Sorry to be rude but why are you Iris messaging me?"

"Oh. That's because—"

"Nico di Angelo! Why in Hades' name have you been avoiding everybody?" A voice shouted off-screen and suddenly, the main person Nico had been trying to avoid came into view.

"—Percy wanted to talk to you. Uh…I'll just leave you two to it then."

Oh damn. Percy looked angry.

That wasn't good.

"Hello Percy. What's up?" Nico said nervously.

"What's up? _What's up_? How can you say that after avoiding everyone for a week? I can understand if you want to spend more time with your…uh…partner but that doesn't mean you can just ignore all your friends!" Percy ranted.

Nico had been following Percy's screaming just fine until he mentioned something about Nico…and a partner? What?

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Pause right there, would you? What are you talking about? I don't have a partner," Nico interrupted.

"Huh? You don't?" Percy asked, confused.

"I don't. And you're one to talk. Shouldn't you be spending more time with your new boyfriend?" Nico said. Damn, he sounded bitter. It wasn't supposed to come across in that manner.

"Hey!" Percy said defensively. "It was only one date. He's not my boyfriend! And I only went on that date with him because he told me he was my secret admirer—"

"He what?!" Nico cried out, feeling anger flare up inside him. "He did what?"

_Dammit, that jerk stole credit for my work! _Nico swore. Maybe he should reconsider the zombie idea.

There was silence from the other end.

"You're my secret admirer?" Percy asked softly.

Shit. Did Nico say that out loud?

Looks like the cat was out of the bag. Nico might as well go along with it. He didn't much like cats anyway.

"…yes," Nico replied, voice a little shaky. He was praying to every god out there that Percy would take to the news kindly. "Is that a problem?"

"No! Of course not! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was going to. But then you decided to go on that date with the bastard—"

"I already told you why I did that! A-And why didn't just tell me you liked me?"

"I didn't want to get rejected! I thought maybe I could woo you by sending you presents…"

"You didn't have to that. I like you too."

Nico gaped. Percy in the Iris message was blushing, looking adorable, and had just confessed to liking Nico too.

Nico couldn't help it; he shadow-travelled to Camp Half-blood.

As soon as he landed next to Percy (thank goodness he had got the destination right and hadn't overshot in his excitement), he tackled him and enveloped him in a tight hug.

"Nico? What—?" Percy yelped, surprised.

"I love you so much," Nico said, nuzzling his nose into Percy's hair, enjoying the delectable smell of the sea. "I'm sorry for avoiding you…"

Percy laid his head on Nico's chest, a slight smile on his face. "I love you too."

They stayed like that in comfortable silence for a while before Nico broke it. "So…would you be my boyfriend then?"

"I would love to."

* * *

**Another Author's Note: **So this is the final chapter, excluding the epilogue and I hoped you liked it!

On another note, I recently won a free prompt in Takara Phoenix's Nicercy Summer Contest and since I suck at coming up with prompts (I can't seem to come up with anything beyond jealous Nico), I was wondering if any of you had a nice story idea? Hopefully with jealous Nico in it too (because I seem to have an unhealthy obsession with that).

Thank you!


	6. Epilogue

_Epilogue—Scheming Girls And Silly Boys_

"I knew it!" Reyna laughed heartily. She used her right hand to make a beckoning gesture. "Pay up!"

The other girls groaned. It was quite annoying, watching Reyna's smug expression, knowing that she had been the one to win the bet when _they _had been the ones who make it happen.

This specific group of girls—Piper, Hazel, Reyna and Rachel—had made a bet on when Nico and Percy would get together. The only rule put into place was that they could not go straight to their face and tell them to get together already. Basically, they couldn't be _blatant _about their matchmaking. But they still could nudge them secretly. Piper had guessed that they would get together soon after she started dressing Percy up to tempt Nico. Unfortunately, she had grossly underestimated the boys' stupidity.

For Hazel, she had made the same mistake as Piper and had put too much trust in her brother, thinking that he would quickly confess and get Percy to be his boyfriend after he got some confidence building and encouragement from her. Sadly, she had not realised that Nico was really, really careful and honestly—a full-out worrywart. He had to plan out literally _every single detail. _So the process of wooing Percy took a long, _long_ time. And in the end, Hazel had missed the actual time they got together by a few months. Well, it felt terrible to be so far off the mark but at _least_ she did better than Piper. So she wasn't at the bottom, although in the end, they all still had to pay the same price. Either way, hoozah for small victories. Right?

Rachel, having experienced Percy's obliviousness before, had actually _overestimated _it, if that was even possible. She had thought they would need at least a year or so to get together, what with Percy forever misreading clues practically thrown at his face. But in the end, it had been her who got them together by helping Percy get in contact with Nico when he had gone into 'isolation' after a major misunderstanding. She had not actively been trying to get them together, unlike Piper and Hazel, most of the time acting as the go-to person for Percy to whine about Nico not spending enough time with him—not that Percy even knew he was whining. Rachel would then advice him, subtly hinting at who his admirer could be—though since it was Percy, Rachel might have well been trying to pin the tail perfectly onto a penny sized donkey, blindfolded, and positioned in the totally wrong direction. As the Oracle, she knew she had to allow things to play out as they were, and purposefully trying to change destiny was useless and would end with the same result. She was glad that she helped her friends get together but she was also a little disappointed that she lost.

And lastly, Reyna guess had been the closest, thus winning. Since she was a closer friend to Nico than the rest of the girls, she knew in the end that he would be the greater deciding factor, as he would be the one going out of his way to make Percy his boyfriend, since he was the one who had been holding feelings for a longer period of time. And she had been right, it seemed.

It pissed the rest of the girls off truly! She had done nothing, literally _nothing _and won.

Piper sighed. She stared longingly at the cash in her palm before handing it over, resigned. Rachel and Hazel soon did the same.

Uncomfortable silence settled around them as Piper, Rachel and Hazel bemoaned their loss and as Reyna counted the money.

"So—I heard from my brother that they would be going on their first ever date tomorrow," Hazel soon said, to rid of the bad atmosphere.

That caused all of them to smile. Even if they lost money (with the exception of Reyna), at least Nico and Percy were finally together.

* * *

Nico's face was entirely red as he gripped Percy's hand in his. It felt so good, so _right _there. He felt nothing but bliss at the moment, in fact this felt completely surreal. He's finally done it; Percy was his boyfriend after all his attempts of wooing (though according to Percy he should have just asked him from the start instead of trying to be subtle about it—and now that Nico thought about it, perhaps he should have taken the risk since he _had _known that he was wooing _Percy_).

And they were on their first date at the moment.

Nico had decided to bring Percy to the aquarium, a nice, calming place to facilitate good conversation and where Percy would probably enjoy, considering the fact that he was the son of Poseidon and all. At the moment, they were at the 'Touch the Shark!' exhibition. Percy was cooing at the shark, the hand not in Nico's patting the shark's head. Nico could not help but stare at the scene with absolute adoration. Percy was adorable.

Throughout the date, Percy would whisper into Nico's ear, telling him what the various fish were thinking. Stuff like "the shark actually enjoys being here, he likes being sort of a celebrity, you know" and "that crab wants to pinch the kid who's tapping at the tank. Should I ask him to stop?" Nico would that laugh and plant a kiss on his head, it was just so endearing. But at several points of the date, Nico would get highly embarrassed when Percy would comment on how great the date was, causing him to stutter and flush wildly.

After touring the aquarium, giving all the fishes equal attention ("they'll feel neglected if I ignore some of them"), Nico bought a gigantic shark soft toy for Percy to remember this date by.

They ended the date with a long, slow kiss (prompted by Percy, surprisingly). Percy had said that he had enjoyed the date immensely, although he sheepishly mentioned that he had gotten a headache from all the voices in his head. But it was okay, because the kiss made it all better.

So cheesy.

So perfect.

Nico couldn't think of a time when he was happier than with Percy by his side. He was glad that he didn't give up and grateful to the fact that he had managed to woo the most oblivious person on the planet.

**The End**

* * *

**Author's Note: **Here's the end of this fic. Woo-hoo! I hope you all enjoy it. Also the aquarium mentioned is the Long Island Sound Aquarium. I've never been there before, in fact I've never been to America, but I've been to their website. That should be good enough.


End file.
